Technology guru Bill Joy is betting on a bulletproof battery

Ionic Materials is developing lithium batteries that are strong enough to withstand being pierced by nails and even getting shot. Pictured is the Ionic Li/polymer/LCO cell powering LED panel.

Bill Joy, the Silicon Valley guru and Sun Microsystems Inc. co-founder, sees the future of energy in a battery that can take a bullet.

The venture capitalist formerly with Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers LLC is now dedicating most of his time to Ionic Materials Inc, a Woburn, Massachusetts-based startup developing lithium batteries that won’t burst into flames. They’re strong enough to withstand being pierced by nails and even getting shot, as the company demonstrates in a promotional video.